Pulitzer Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 10 (1926) Winner
Sinclair Lewis
シンクレア・ルイス
Shinkurea Ruisu
Pen Names:
Tom Graham（Used for early juvenile potboiler works）
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1885-02-07 （Sauk Centre, Minnesota, U.S.）
- Died
- 1951-01-10 （Rome, Italy） age 65
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Religion
- Atheism
- Residence History
- Washington, D.C. (residence while writing) → Duluth, Minnesota → Williamstown, Massachusetts (summer estate) → Rome, Italy (later life) → Vermont (second home from 1928)
Career
- Occupations
- novelist, short-story writer, playwright
- Active Years
- 1907-1951
- Affiliations
- Member/associate of the New York chapter of the Socialist Party of America
- Memberships
- Socialist Party of America (New York chapter)
- Influenced By
- Theodore Dreiser, Willa Cather, Ernest Hemingway
- Influenced
- American satirical novelists and writers depicting Midwestern life, Later novelists (debated influence on figures such as Philip Roth)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yale University | — | — | BA | 1903–1908 | United States |
Yale University
Degree:
BA
Period:
1903–1908
Year of Graduation:
1908
Country:
United States
Took time off during studies to work, travel and join Helicon Home Colony
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 | Nobel Prize in Literature | Babbitt and other works | — | Swedish Academy | 受賞 |
| 1926 | Pulitzer Prize for the Novel | Arrowsmith | — | Pulitzer Prize Board | 受賞（辞退） |
Nobel Prize in Literature
1930
Work:
Babbitt and other works
Organization:
Swedish Academy
Result:
受賞
Pulitzer Prize for the Novel
1926
Work:
Arrowsmith
Organization:
Pulitzer Prize Board
Result:
受賞（辞退）
Awards & Nominations
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
1 appearances
-
Edition 1 (1926) Winner
Nobel Prize in Literature
1 appearances
-
Edition 28 (1930) Winner
Works
Major Works
Main Street
1920 Novel (social satire)A critique of small-town life in the American Midwest, following Carol Kennicott's struggles and the stifling conformity of provincial society.
small-town lifeindividual vs. communityresistance to modernization
Babbitt
1922 Novel (satire)Satire of American commercial culture and boosterism centered on the businessman George F. Babbitt in the fictional city of Zenith.
commercialismconformitysocial critique
Arrowsmith
1925 Novel (medicine, ethics)Follows an idealistic doctor's struggles with scientific integrity, medical practice and ethical compromises.
medical ethicsidealism vs. realitysocial responsibility of science
Adaptations
- [Film] Arrowsmith / John Ford (1931)
Elmer Gantry
1927 Novel (religious satire)A scathing portrayal of a hypocritical evangelical minister and criticism of religious fanaticism and commercialized religion.
religion and hypocrisycommercialized faithmoral contradiction
Adaptations
- [Film] Elmer Gantry / Richard Brooks (1960)
Dodsworth
1929 Novel (social satire, character study)Depicts the emptiness of affluent American life and personal relationships; adapted for Broadway and film.
wealth and emptinessmarriage and personal changecultural clash
Adaptations
- [Stage/Film] Dodsworth / William Wyler (film adaptation) (1936)
It Can't Happen Here
1935 Novel (dystopia / political satire)A dystopian satire imagining the election of a fascist to the American presidency; a political warning that has been re-evaluated in modern contexts.
rise of authoritarianismloss of civil libertiesvulnerability of democracy
Bibliography
- Hike and the Aeroplane (1912, as Tom Graham)
- Our Mr. Wrenn (1914)
- The Trail of the Hawk (1915)
- The Job (1917)
- The Innocents (1917)
- Free Air (1919)
- Main Street (1920)
- Babbitt (1922)
- Arrowsmith (1925)
- Mantrap (1926)
- Elmer Gantry (1927)
- Dodsworth (1929)
- It Can't Happen Here (1935)
- Gideon Planish (1943)
- Kingsblood Royal (1947)
- World So Wide (1951, posthumous)
Adaptations
- Arrowsmith: 1931 film adaptation (dir. John Ford)
- Elmer Gantry: 1960 film adaptation (Burt Lancaster)
- Dodsworth: 1936 film adaptation (dir. William Wyler)
- Little Bear Bongo: material used in Disney's segment 'Bongo' (1947)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- satirical, realist depictioncharacter-driven with wit and humor
- Recurring Motifs
- Midwestern small-town life and parochialismcritique of commercialism and materialismportrayals of modern working women
Health
-
Alcoholism1930年代–1951年Adversely affected life and health; considered a contributing factor in his later decline and death
-
Psychiatric issues (short inpatient treatment)1937年（一時的な入院）Recorded short hospitalization in 1937 where treatment and assessment for alcohol problems occurred
Legacy
Celebrated for satirical portrayals of American society in the early 20th century; reputation among scholars has fluctuated, but he remains notable as the first U.S. recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature (1930). Recent years have seen renewed interest in works like It Can't Happen Here.
Museums
- Sinclair Lewis Boyhood Home (museum) Sauk Centre, Minnesota
Academic Societies
- Sinclair Lewis Society
Archives
- Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library (Sinclair Lewis Papers)
In Popular Culture
- Honored by the U.S. Postal Service in the Great Americans stamp series
- Multiple film and stage adaptations (e.g. Arrowsmith, Elmer Gantry, Dodsworth)
Quotes
-
[If] there was ever a novelist among us with an authentic call to the trade ... it is this red-haired tornado from the Minnesota wilds.
Source: Comment by H. L. Mencken -
In America most of us—not readers alone, but even writers—are still afraid of any literature which is not a glorification of everything American.
Source: Nobel Lecture: "The American Fear of Literature" (1930)
Trivia
- First author from the United States to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature (1930).
- Was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Arrowsmith (1926) but declined it.
- Early in his career published juvenile potboilers under the pseudonym Tom Graham.